This is such an incredible piece. Thank you for sharing and being so honest about the realities of instagram, influencing and modern freelancing. It is all the stuff people pretend isn't happening, but having spent the last decade helping freelancers with their backends, I can confirm that this experience is the norm when having to hustle for exposure and work. It is exhausting!
Love the honesty of this post. I've always danced around the edges of the online world, blogging, social media, but never quite having the consistency or conviction to 'make it' into anything. But I really relate to so much you've said here about what that dance feels like!
What a beautiful essay 💕 Thank you for articulating not just your specific experience but a suffocating feeling that keeps so many people stuck in the rat race for far too long.
I’m so glad you wrote this and shared your experiences. I have always been a late bloomer and kind of behind the trends, even in my 20’s, so I started blogging late and promptly stopped. And my IG was just for me for years before I saw people making money off the things I was already doing and loving (photography, writing, traveling)…being an influencer had never crossed my mind, but suddenly I was comparing my little account to others who were excelling and getting increasingly bitter, also. (That line in your article really resonated.) And now here I am on Substack, trying not to be ruled by my small follower count/subscriptions or disappointed that people aren’t reading or engaging with my articles. I don’t know what the answer is, or how we fully let go of the comparison trap, but I’m glad we’re talking about it—thank you for being vulnerable and sharing this.
It's so tough. Comparison is awful, and part of it is just humans being humans, but when we're all funneled into algorithms designed to keep us comparing (and buying things about it) it's unfair. I don't know what the answer is either, but I'm glad I can at least share my point of view and experience to start the conversation.
thank you for your honesty! so few people are willing to admit to the ugly side of influencing, and how creating content can be almost as addictive as consuming it.
I have a very similar story. Maybe one day I’ll write about it too :) I loved this post!
Thanks Andi! You should!
This is such an incredible piece. Thank you for sharing and being so honest about the realities of instagram, influencing and modern freelancing. It is all the stuff people pretend isn't happening, but having spent the last decade helping freelancers with their backends, I can confirm that this experience is the norm when having to hustle for exposure and work. It is exhausting!
Thank you so much Cassandra! I'm sad but not surprised to hear that it's the norm, for sure.
Love the honesty of this post. I've always danced around the edges of the online world, blogging, social media, but never quite having the consistency or conviction to 'make it' into anything. But I really relate to so much you've said here about what that dance feels like!
It's exhausting for sure. Glad you enjoyed the piece!
What a beautiful essay 💕 Thank you for articulating not just your specific experience but a suffocating feeling that keeps so many people stuck in the rat race for far too long.
Thank you so much! Rat race is a great way to describe it.
I’m so glad you wrote this and shared your experiences. I have always been a late bloomer and kind of behind the trends, even in my 20’s, so I started blogging late and promptly stopped. And my IG was just for me for years before I saw people making money off the things I was already doing and loving (photography, writing, traveling)…being an influencer had never crossed my mind, but suddenly I was comparing my little account to others who were excelling and getting increasingly bitter, also. (That line in your article really resonated.) And now here I am on Substack, trying not to be ruled by my small follower count/subscriptions or disappointed that people aren’t reading or engaging with my articles. I don’t know what the answer is, or how we fully let go of the comparison trap, but I’m glad we’re talking about it—thank you for being vulnerable and sharing this.
It's so tough. Comparison is awful, and part of it is just humans being humans, but when we're all funneled into algorithms designed to keep us comparing (and buying things about it) it's unfair. I don't know what the answer is either, but I'm glad I can at least share my point of view and experience to start the conversation.
thank you for your honesty! so few people are willing to admit to the ugly side of influencing, and how creating content can be almost as addictive as consuming it.
OMG! It's like you visited my bran and hear and wrote about what's in there.
I feel the exact same about my path in social media (however, never hit the 10k in Insta!).
I have been blogging, trying to be an Instagrammer, did some videos on Youtube but I never felt good enough.
I'd love to say I'm over social media but here I am now trying to grow my Tiktok account lol!
Anyways, I'm a new follower :) and I really love how you put your feelings into words.
Thank you for this! And hey, if it is still in your head and heart, keep trying but now have fun with it :)!
Sending you lots of love!!